Kidnapping victim Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin) makes it halfway to freedom before being recaptured by Pakistani terrorists on “Halfway to a Donut,” Episode 408 of Showtime’s espionage thriller “Homeland.”

The former CIA director is the great prize of Taliban leader Haissam Haqqani (Numan Acar), who demands to swap Saul for five high-value prisoners held by the U.S. military at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan.

If the prisoners are released, Haqqani’s command structure will be restored, thus posing a significant threat in the turbulent region.

When Haqqani transmits live images of his bloodied hostage to American and Pakistani officials gathered for an emergency meeting, Saul makes his wishes abundantly clear about the proposed prisoner exchange.

“Don’t do it,” he yells, prompting Haqqani’s thugs to yank Saul away from the video camera.

Just like Saul, neither the intelligence agency nor the White House wants the prisoners released, Lockhart emphasizes to Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes), CIA station chief in Islamabad.

“But I will not have my predecessor join Daniel Pearl and Jim Foley with their heads in a basket,” Lockhart fumes, referring to American journalists brutally murdered by Islamic militants.

“We find another way,” Carrie says, hoping for a lucky break.

That break seemingly occurs when Saul escapes from his handcuffs, strangles a guard and flees into a remote mountainous area near the Afghanistan border. Carrie tells Saul by cellphone to take refuge in a village 20 miles away and wait for U.S. Special Forces to arrive.

“Did we?” Aasar replies, knowing that the prisoners about to be released killed Pakistani civilians in terrorist attacks. He also bristles at Carrie’s consistently hostile attitude.

Still, Carrie is starting to trust Aasar. That’s because his men rescued her the night before when she hallucinated and turned violent after taking what she thought was a prescription drug to manage her bipolar disorder.

If Aasar hadn’t freed Carrie from jail, she would have been relieved of her duties and sent home to America.